Saturday, July 16, 2016

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE MARRIEDS - FIRE IN THE FLAME

While the band name gives away the living arrangements, there's a lot more to Jane Carmichael and Kevin Kennedy's gig than love and family songs. Well, they do those, and very well, but they aren't often biographical. Instead, Carmichael (the chief songwriter) has an ear for other people's touching tales, and then the couple adds great-sounding folk and country-edged hooks and harmonies.

Carmichael has the kind of voice that hits you just at the right moment, and is the kind of writer who knows when to place those moments in a song. Turquoise Blue, about a six-year-old boy with leukemia, has a chorus with a beautiful vocal and harmony, as she sings "Little trooper, little soldier." A Girl Said Yes, about a couple who's first date was initiated by the man writing a letter, has another killer chorus: "It's all because a boy wrote a letter/It's all because a girl said yes."

Closing cut Fire In The Flame is one from her own life, about her father's Alzheimer's, and what thoughts he may have lived with at the beginning: "Will you still love me if I don't know your name?" Bring an extra Kleenex if you're checking out any of the duo's upcoming shows, including these ones:

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About Me

A veteran Canadian broadcaster, Bob Mersereau specializes in popular music writing. He's been with CBC TV and Radio since 1982, and regularly reports on the arts. Bob is the author of the Top 100 Canadian Albums, a national best-seller published in 2007, and The Top 100 Canadian Singles, published in September 2010, both from Goose Lane Editions. His music column appears each week on CBC Radio 1 in New Brunswick, on the program Shift, and he has written music articles and reviews for such publications as The Coast Magazine, The Telegraph Journal, and The Globe and Mail. He's also the recipient of the 2014 Stompin' Tom Award from the East Coast Music Association.